Desk.



No. 628,346. Pa'tento'd July 4, I899.

E. M. KOSHER.

DESK.

. (No Model.)

A TTOHNEYS.

LII.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- ELIZA MARIA MOSHER, OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

DESK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 628,346, dated July 4, 1899.

Application filed October 21, 1898. Serial No. 694,202. (No model.)

To 01/66 w/com it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELIZA MARIA MOSHER, of Ann Arbor, in the county of Washtenaw and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Desks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a desk for school use,.especially adapted for both reading and writing purposes, and so constructed that a pupil can occupy it with greater ease and comfort than the ordinary school-desk, and whereby such desks may be brought closer together than usual without discomfort to the occupants.

A further object of the invention is to pro-' vide the desk with an adjustable rest that in one position serves as a front flange and in another position serves as a support for a book, drafting or Writing copy, or the like, holding such articles above the top of the desk at an inclination facing the occupant of said desk, enabling a student to naturally assume and retain an erect hygienic position while studying. The adjustable rest when in position at the front of the desk serves not only as a flange, but also as a support for the back of a book placed in position .for study or for observation.

The invention consists in the novel construction and. combination of the several parts, aswill be hereinafter fully set' forth,

and pointed out in the claims. k

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar-characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the'improved desk. Fig. 2 is a similar view ofthe desk, a portion of the standard being broken away, said View being intended to illustrate the manner in which the rest attached to the desk may serve to assist in the support of a book; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the improved desk, illustrating the rest. as adjusted toward the rear and so placed as to support a book or other article in a position to be readily observed or studied by the occupant of the desk, the book or other object being supported above the upper face of the desk-top, leaving the top of said desk unobstructed In the construction of the desk two sides 10 are employed, each side having an extension 10 at its rear upper portion. The sides are connected by a front board 11 and by a bot-' tom board 12, beyond which the extensions 10 of the sides project, while a top 13 is secured upon the upper edgeof the side boards, the rear end of thetop extending beyond the extensions 10 of the said sides. If in practice it is found desirable, the top may be made in two sections connectedby hinges 14, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. l

A rest is provided for the desk, which rest is in the nature of a board or a panel 15, and normally one longitudinal edge of said rest is supported upon the upper edge of the front board 11 of the desk proper, the said rest having an upward and rearward inclination at that time, as is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Brackets 16 are secured to .the rear face of the restnear whatis normally its upper edge,

"the brackets being located at each side of said rest, and these brackets 16 have a hinged connection with supports 17,. secured in any suitable or approved manner upon the desktop. In front of the said supports 17 at about the'transverse center of the top a depression 18 is produced in said top, or instead of the depression a transverse rib may be provided.

When the rest 15 is in its normal position, the lower portion of the back of a book may be entered into the recess 18, or may be made to bear against the rib, if such substitut-e be employed, while the back of the book near its upper end will rest against the upper edge of the rest 15, as shown in Fig. 2. Under such a construction a book may be supported at a proper .angle for convenient observation or study by the occupant of the desk, and the book is in no dangerof slipping or changing its position.

Near what is normally the upper edge of 'portions of its brackets 16 bear upon the supports 17, to which they are hinged, as is shown in Fig. 3, the brackets being so formed that when such contact is made between them and their supports the rest will be at a proper angle to the desk and the pupil will naturally sit erect in a correct position.

The desk is preferably supported upon an adjustable standard A. This standard may be of any approved construction, but preferably consists of a column 20, into which a screw 21 is entered at the top, the said screw being attached to the bottom of the desk, while a suitable base 22 is provided for the column, through the medium of which base the column may be attached to the floor or other support.

I desire it to be understood that if in practice it is found desirable the front 11 of the desk need not extend to a level with the top and that the rest 15, which is really a front board as well as a flange, under such construction will form a portion of the front of the desk proper, since at all times the lower edge of the rest when in normal position will bear upon the front port-ion of the desk.

It will be observed that the brackets 16 are practically triangular, being secured at their wider ends to the front board or rest and hinged at their contracted ends to the supports 17, secured to the desk.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A school-desk, consisting of a body, a front board or rest normally occupying an up wardly and rearwardly inclined position, supports attached to the upper portion of the desk, and brackets hinged to said supports and secured to the rear portion of said front board or rest, the brackets being tapering and narrowest at their hinged ends, the front board or rest being further provided with a flange, which flange when the front board or rest is in its normal position is at the front face of the rest or board near its upper edge, whereby the front board or rest may be carried rearward and supported by its brackets contacting with the supports to which they are hinged, the front board or rest occupying at such time a downward and rearward position at a point at an elevation above the top of the desk, as set forth.

2. The combination, with a desk, of a front board or rest normally supported at the front top portion of said desk, the normal position of the front board or rest being at an inclination upward and rearward, a flange secured upon one face of the said front board or rest near one longitudinal edge, triangularlyshaped brackets secured to the face of the front board or rest opposite that at which the flange is located, supports secured to said desk, a hinged connection between the contracted ends of the brackets and said supports, and means for supporting the lower edge of a book upon the upper face of the desk, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination with a desk or support, of a pivoted structure comprising a bracket mounted to swing on the desk, and a bookrest rigidly attached to the free end of the bracket, said structure when swung in one direction, bearing on the desk and supporting the book-rest above and clear of the desk ELIZA MARIA MOSIIER.

\Vitnesses:

NOAH W001) CHEEVER,

BEULAH B. DAVIS. 

